I’ve been a dedicated Star Wars fan for as long as I can remember, and I’ve followed Marvel’s comics closely since they reclaimed the license. Heading into 2026, I can’t shake the feeling that my favorite galaxy far, far away has become a small, familiar neighborhood instead of an infinite frontier. Last year was supposed to be a triumphant leap into the post-Return of the Jedi era, but instead it felt like a cautious shuffle, constantly glancing backward. As someone who grew up devouring the old Expanded Universe novels and comics, I miss the sense of boundless discovery. Now, I find myself worrying that the comics are on life support, retreading ideas when they should be reinventing them.

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2025 was a pivotal year. The flagship Star Wars title finally moved beyond the Battle of Endor, yet its first dozen issues have been a slow burn that offers more of the same instead of charting new territory. We see Luke Skywalker and other Republic heroes yes, but they’re wrapped in a simplified version of the era. It’s a far cry from what fans expected, and certainly from what the Expanded Universe once delivered. Back then, the timeline beyond Return of the Jedi was an explosion of creativity: the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, the formation of the New Jedi Order, and political turmoil that tested the Rebels' hard-won peace. Marvel’s current run, by comparison, feels like a safe rerun. It’s as if the creative team is afraid to let these characters evolve beyond their cinematic templates.

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But it’s not just the main title. Across multiple eras, the storytelling has narrowed dramatically. Since Disney’s acquisition in 2014, the scope of the galaxy has been shrinking, and 2025 felt like the endpoint of that process. We now have a small handful of characters carrying the weight of the entire franchise, while an entire galaxy of alien species, cultures, and conflicts remains unexplored. The Legacy of Vader series starring Kylo Ren is the perfect example of this obsession with the past. It sets Ben Solo’s entire journey between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker around his tumultuous relationship with Darth Vader’s legacy. Every revelation about the prequel era and the downfall of the Jedi feels like an echo we’ve heard countless times before. It’s dramatically compelling at first, but after several issues, it becomes a loop. Star Wars can’t move one step forward without taking two steps back into the shadow of the Chosen One.

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As a reader, I’m exhausted by the constant revisiting of the same iconic moments. The prequel era’s political machinations and the Clone Wars are rich veins, but we keep mining the same narrow seams: Obi-Wan’s regrets, Anakin’s fall, Order 66. The sequel era, which should be a playground for fresh narratives, is off to a sluggish start because the comics are still chained to the Skywalker saga’s greatest hits. I don’t need another story where Kylo Ren communes with a Vader helmet relic or a reconfirmation that Palpatine was pulling strings. I want to see new adversaries who have nothing to do with Sith lineage, new worlds that don’t look like Tatooine clones, and heroes who aren’t genetically related to anyone we’ve met before.

The Extended Universe’s greatest strength was its willingness to take big swings. It gave us characters like Grand Admiral Thrawn originally in a novel, then expanded his presence. It introduced the concept of the Imperial Remnant struggling for legitimacy. It wasn’t afraid to make the galaxy feel lived-in beyond the film frames. Today’s comics seem terrified of straying too far from established icons. Even when they introduce new faces, they’re quickly tied to a legacy character. That safety net is becoming a trap.

Here’s what I believe needs to happen in 2026 and beyond:

  • 🌌 Embrace the Unknown: Story arcs set in uncharted regions like the Wild Space or the Unknown Regions should feature completely original casts with no ties to the Skywalkers, Palpatines, or Solos. Let us fall in love with a new generation organically.

  • ⚡ Faster Pacing, Bolder Revelations: The post-Jedi era cannot afford to play it safe. It must show the galaxy dealing with the power vacuum in ways that surprise us—not just a resurgent Empire with a new mask.

  • 🌟 Diversify the Eras: Give equal attention to the High Republic’s golden age, the Old Republic before the prequels, or even far-future periods where the legacy of the force is a myth. Stop circling the same 70-year timeline.

  • 🚫 No More Ancient Sith Artifacts: Please, no more plots driven by Vader’s helmet, Sith holocrons, or an ancient evil awakening in the same manner. Invent new threats.

I still have faith. Marvel has produced stellar Star Wars runs before, like Kieron Gillen’s Darth Vader or Charles Soule’s Poe Dameron when it took risks. The talent is there, but the editorial direction needs a hard reset. The franchise must let go of its compulsive need to connect everything back to a tiny few. The galaxy has a hundred billion stars, yet our comics orbit around barely a dozen characters. That’s not sustainability—that’s stagnation. 2026 must be the year the comics break free from the past and finally give us something novel, thrilling, and truly worthy of that opening crawl.

In the end, I’m not asking to erase legacy; I’m asking to build a new one alongside it. The best way to honor Darth Vader’s memory is not to resurrect his shadow every issue, but to prove the galaxy he lived in still has untold stories waiting to be discovered.